Chapter 25CamilaBerus

Chapter 25

Camila

Cami had been sure she wouldn't be able to sleep with everything that had happened, but the moment her head hit the soft pillow, she'd gone out like a light. She woke up with all her muscles aching and her head pounding.

She groaned and reached for the glass of water she always left for herself. She was hungry too. She also wondered if Berus was awake yet.

She'd wanted to stay with him in the medical bay, but Dex had promised he would watch over him, and she hadn't wanted to get in the medic's way or look too clingy, so she let herself be talked into going to her room to take a nap instead.

She found an oversized T-shirt and threw it on. The clothes Berus had gotten for her were now a sad, muddy mess, and the clothing decontaminator was still out of action thanks to Nibbles' "special modifications."

She was just about to head out to the common room or the kitchens to see if she could dig up some grub when there was a knock at the door. She brightened, hoping it was Berus.

Delaney met her instead. "Hey, you. Thought you might be hungry when you woke. Wanna go grab some food?"

"Yes! I'm ravenous."

The two made their way to the mess hall and hit up the food replicators. Roxy was already there, sitting with a half-eaten platter of food in front of her. The tray next to her contained just a chunk of raw meat, and Nibbles was sitting right on the table, chowing down contentedly.

"Hey, look, it's the hero of the day!" Roxy said with a grin.

Cami looked around. It took her a moment to realize Roxy was referring to her. She'd never been a hero before.

"Thanks for contacting us in time. Berus is important to us. I'm glad he's alive."

"He only got hurt protecting me."

Roxy waved it away. "All on Rehden. Don't blame yourself, girl."

They sat down to eat, and Cami filled her friends in on everything that had happened on the planet, starting with the excursion to the vendors and then the trip into the wilderness. She told them of the gargapods, and the rain, and the biblical flooding. Finally, she told them about Rehden finding them and his shocking claims that Cami was his mate.

"Wow! You need to get that shit on HBO." Roxy's words had Cami giggling.

"Hello? I'm not the one who picked up a Nibbles from an abandoned mine," she said.

Nibbles, recognizing his name, looked up from his nearly empty platter. Cami blinked. How the hell had he gotten all that meat into his belly? Where was he putting it?

"Rehden's actions do make sense if he believed you were his mate," Delaney said. "He was way too possessive for a normal slave owner."

"Yeah, but he still thought of me like a possession, not a person. And the way he said it, my god, it sounded like he was angry that he'd fucked up and let it happen with a lowly human but had come to terms with it."

"Ugh! What an ass." Roxy's remark was followed by a dramatic retching sound which had them all grinning.

"You know, back when I was still in the inner planets," Cami said, "I used to think that if I could only get a Tallean male to form a mating bond with me, then all my worries would be over. It was supposed to be my way out, much safer than trying to make it to the outer planets alone. But now, after what happened with Rehden, a mate bond is the last thing I want. He called me his mate, and it didn't make me feel happy. It made me feel sick to my stomach."

Cami didn't want or need another crazy male controlling her. But it wouldn't be so bad if it was Berus. He was the only male Cami wanted. She was pretty sure she was half in love with him already.

But off-the-charts chemistry didn't necessarily mean they'd form a mate bond. Wouldn't all the time they'd spent in the wilderness together have triggered it already if it was meant to be?

Berus had promised to keep her safe, but that was just part of the mission. He'd mentioned visiting her at Reka 5, but that could just be for booty calls. He hadn't asked her to test compatibility or anything like that. What if she'd read too much into it?

"It's not like that normally." Delaney's words pulled Cami out of her obsessive thoughts.

At first, Cami didn't know what she was talking about, but then realized she was still talking about Rehden.

"There was something really wrong with that guy. A real mate would never hurt you," Delaney continued. "Don't let that asshole skew your view on the whole mate thing. I'm mated to Ulrek of all people, but I wouldn't change it for the universe."

"Yeah," Roxy agreed. "Something was definitely wrong with Rehden. That wasn't a normal mate bond. Maybe he tried to fight it, and it soured? I've heard of that happening before."

"Maybe." That had crossed Cami's mind too. "I'm just glad he's gone now. Literally swimming with the fishes."

"Me too!" the other two agreed.

They were interrupted by a loud snore. Nibbles had fallen asleep on top of what was left of his steak dinner. The only thing missing was a little cartoon snot bubble.

"He's already acting like one of the guys," Roxy cooed fondly. "I'm going to have a hard time releasing him."

"He's not going to want to leave," Cami said. "He's well on his way to achieving spoiled pet status."

Then she finished her food and excused herself to go find her big, friendly bear.

Berus

Berus froze in the corridor just outside the mess hall.

" A mate bond is the last thing I want ." Camila's words felt like a blaster shot straight to his heart.

He'd gone to her room to look for her the second Tahra had released him. He'd wanted to tell her right away that she was his mate. He would offer to stay on Reka 5 with her, if that was what she wanted. He still had to finish his contract here on the ship, but after that, he was all hers. He would follow her to the ends of the universe, if it made her happy.

But it wouldn't make her happy. Cami didn't want a mate at all.

"A mate bond is the last thing I want."

Berus was glad he hadn't rushed in there like a fool to declare his undying love the moment he heard her voice. She'd gone through so much already, and he didn't need to add an unwelcome mate bond to her troubles. He backed away from the doorway, his feet moving on autopilot.

He didn't know how he got there, but when he looked up again, he was on the bridge in front of Ulrek.

"Ah, just the male I wanted to see." His captain's grin dropped the moment he saw Berus's state. He put out a hand, as if worried Berus would fall over and he'd need to catch him. "You look pale. Are you sure you should be up and about?"

"I am fine." Let his captain believe that it was still the poison making him weak. He didn't need him to know his heart was breaking into a million pieces.

"Really. I want the report, but I'd prefer if you didn't pass out while giving it. We can wait if you need more rest."

"I said I'm fine." Berus proceeded to give his captain a detailed report of what had transpired on the planet, omitting the part where Vasek had changed the name on Cami's chip. When they got to Reka 5, they'd remove it, and the point would be moot.

"We did some digging while we were waiting for the authorities to lose interest in us. The shipment of weapons did, in fact, end up at Aton Station with Neyala. She wasn't particularly attached to Rehden, so his disappearance shouldn't come back to haunt us. If anything, she's probably glad he's gone. It's one less loose end for her to tie up."

That was good. He didn't want his taking care of Rehden to affect the crew negatively.

"And don't worry about the transport. Cami was very upset about the damage when I talked to her, but I assured her that we put our equipment through their paces. You should go see her; she's very worried for you."

As if it wasn't hard enough already. Berus wasn't sure he trusted himself right now. All he wanted to do was rush into that mess hall, scoop her up, bring her to his quarters, and not let her leave until she'd accepted the fact that they were mates, and always would be.

Berus decided that he needed help from his captain and friend. "I can't see her," he said.

Ulrek looked bemused. "Why not?"

If Berus admitted that he'd already formed a mate bond with her, Ulrek would probably tell him to listen to the little voice that told him to steal her away. That wouldn't be so bad, would it? Cami would forgive him eventually, right?

"A mate bond is the last thing I want."

No. His first task as her mate was to ensure her happiness.

"I'm trying to avoid forming a mating bond," he said. "I spent a dangerous amount of time with her on the surface."

Ulrek scratched his chin. "I see."

"It's already getting difficult not to see her," Berus admitted.

"Personally, I think Cami would be a great mate for you. But if this is something you are not ready for yet, I understand. A mate changes your life forever."

"I know." Stars , did Berus know. "I need a distraction. Give me something to do. Order me away from her."

Ulrek was quiet for a long moment. Then he said, "Dex says that the new game from Hullean Vision is really good. Maybe you can hide out in there with him. It has multiplayer capabilities."

You know, that might actually work.

"That sounds like a great idea. Thank you, captain."